FIFA World Cup History – FIFA World Cup 1986, Argentina's Maradona lifts the trophy
FIFA World Cup 1986 was held in Mexico between the dates 31st May and 29th June. FIFA chose Colombia at first to host this year’s competition but due to economic crises in the country, they resigned in 1982 and therefore, Mexico was chosen to host the World Cup. 24 teams qualified in this tournament and battled each other out for the ultimate goal, the FIFA World Cup!
The concept of this FIFA World Cup was just like in 1982, where 24 teams qualified and they were divided into six groups of four. The two teams who topped the group, qualified for the pre quarter finals and the 4 best third-place teams would join them in the round of 16. The tournament began on 31st May with the first match between Italy and Bulgaria.
In group 1, Argentina, Italy, Bulgaria and Korea Republic had to battle it out for a spot in the round of 16. Argentina and Italy qualified easy, as Argentina did not lose any match in the group stages and only drew one match against the Italians, the latter won only a single match and drawing the rest of the two. Later, Bulgaria was qualified as the best third placed team to battle it out for the round of 16.
In group 2, the host nation Mexico topped their group by winning 2 of their matches and drawing their match against their fellow South American team Paraguay, who ended up as the runner-ups of the group. Paraguay, just like Italy in group 1, won one match and drew the rest, while Belgium followed Bulgaria in the best third place team to qualify for the round of 16. Iraq qualified for the first time and did not manage to qualify for the next round.
In group 3, Soviet Union and France, both, dominated the group. They both won the same amount of points, 5, by winning both the matches and drawing against each other. Hungary and Canada could not even manage to come in the best third place team and they were knocked out of the tournament.
In the fourth group, there were two giants battling each other. Those giants were Spain and Brazil. Brazil, however, won all the matches and qualified for the round of 16, and Spain won two matches to follow Brazil into the next round. Northern Ireland and Algeria were not lucky enough to even qualify for the best third place team and they were knocked out.
In the fifth group; Denmark, West Germany and Uruguay were to fight each other as Scotland were the underdogs. Denmark topped the group by surprisingly winning all the matches they played and winning six points. West Germany followed them as runner-ups while the Uruguayans were taken to be the best third place team.
In the last group, Morocco, England, Poland and Portugal were supposed to battle each other out but Portugal was eliminated, when Poland defeated them in their second match. Morocco won two matches and lost their third and England drew one match, lost one and won one to qualify for the pre quarter finals. Poland, however, were selected for the best third placed team and had a chance in the tournament.
Then the third placed teams were compared with each other and it was seen whether who is going to qualify for the next round. The 4 teams that stood out were Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria and Uruguay, while Hungary and Northern Ireland were knocked out.
Now when the 16 teams were selected, the knockout stages began.
The first match was between Brazil and Poland in which the Brazilians proved the world that they were there to win. They won the match 4-0 and shattered Poland’s dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup. The second match was between France and Italy, which was supposed to be a real thriller but the French did not even let the Italians come near them, as they won the match 2-0. Morocco then faced West Germany and lost 0-1 to make it easy for the Germans to qualify for the next round. The host nation Mexico had to face the Bulgarians and they defeated them 2-0 to qualify for the quarter finals. Then Argentina, captained by Diego Maradona, faced Uruguay in an action pact match and won the match 1-0 to qualify for the quarter finals. England thrashed the South American team Paraguay 3-0 to meet Argentina in the quarter finals, while Belgium won from the Soviets in extra time. Spain smashed a 5-1 win over Denmark and 8 teams were left in the tournament.
The first quarter final was between Brazil and France, which was filled with excitement as the match ended as a draw and went on to penalties to decide the winner. France won the match 4-3 over penalties and qualified for the semi finals to shock the world. In the next match, host nation Mexico were beaten by the Germans on penalties, as the match ended in a goalless draw and Mexicans lost 4-1 on penalties. Belgium and Spain’s match proved to be a real shocker as it was a 1-1 draw and then Belgium won the match over penalties and all the quarter finals came down to one thing, the penalties.
All but one quarter final was decided over the spot kicks. The quarter final between England and Argentina; it was a match full of drama and excitement as Diego Maradona, the Argentinean legend, carried his team on to the semi finals. The match started off with Diego Maradona handling the ball in the opponents’ 18 yard box and scoring a goal with his hand which was later known to be “the hand of god.” Although the match was going to be, a draw even after the “hand of god” Diego Maradona was not finished. He then took the ball from the half line, dribbled through 6 players and scored a goal which was later to be known as the “goal of the century.” With the help of Diego Maradona, Argentina qualified for the semi finals.
France met the very impressive side West Germany in the semi finals and the Germans won the 2-0 to qualify for the final. Argentina had to meet Belgium, who were relatively a very easy task for Diego Maradona. Argentina won the match 2-0, with both goals coming from Diego Maradona as the second goal marked his 5th goal of tournament.
Argentina then met West Germany in the final of the FIFA World Cup 1986. Argentina kicked off and the match started to take its shape in 18th minute of the match, when Argentinians were being a real threat from the right wing. In the 23rd minute, Brown scored a goal for his country and lead Argentina 1-0. The first half ended with Argentina leading and then in the second half Valdano scored to make it 2-0 for his country in the 55th minute. After the second goal from Argentina, the real drama began. West Germans came back from behind when a goal from Rummenigge in the 74th minute gave them a hope of staying in the match. Then, in the 80th minute, Voller scored from a stunning header to lead put the match on level terms. Argentinians were looking tired as the Germans were beginning to take their shape and looked as if they were going to take this trophy home. Right after 3 minutes, Burruchaga scored an incredible goal to lead his team to victory in the 83rd minute, as the Germans did not manage to score a goal after that and Argentinians were crowned as the World Champions for the second time.
The English player, Gary Lineker, scored 6 goals in the tournament and was awarded with the golden boot, while Maradona was honoured with the golden ball. Brazil, on the other hand, won the fair play award with the least yellow and red cards in the FIFA World Cup 1986.
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